Relationship
by Silent Sacrifice
Summary: Reno and Rufus have always been best friends. The relationship started when they were young and just worked its way up. It experienced many things, this is the story of Rufus, Reno, and the connections between the two.
1. Turk's Realize

I love my friend, I really do. She had a story that we were both working on, and it wasn't on my computer. So she sent me a copy of her version, and asked that I post it on here. Said there isn't Enough Reno x Rufus. So I agreed, and now.... here we go. Its kind of skippy. It skips months, years, ect ect. I think it gives it character. It might not be completely relevant to the FFVII timeline, but ... oh well.

* * *

Sometimes, Tseng hated Rufus. No, that wasn't true. It was impossible for him to hate Rufus. Rufus was his boss, and Rufus was the man he had to protect, and beyond that, Rufus was like a son to Tseng. Saying he hated the man would say that he had turned traitor, or something like that, and get him killed. After all, who wanted a man who hates them as a body guard?

So no, Tseng didn't hate Rufus… he just hated the teen's pet. Dark Nation. What a vile thing. How in the world Rufus was even allowed to keep the monstrosity was a mystery all in its own, let alone the species of the animal. The feeling of hate wasn't one-sided either. Dark Nation hated the majority of the Turks, and made sure to express that, but the animal did it to Tseng more than any of the other Turks. Maybe it was because Veld always stuck him on bodyguard duty and as such the beast felt that they were undermining its ability to protect Rufus? Whatever the cause, the creature was evil.

Tseng wondered for a few seconds on that thought as he raced down the hall of the Shinra Tower. He shook his head, dispelling the thought. Right now he had to concentrate if he wanted to get out of this relatively unscathed. He ran past a secretary and grabbed the papers in her hand, throwing back behind him. A growl and the sound of paper being shredded answered his silent questions as to if it was still chasing him and if that papers would slow it down.

"Sir?" He ran past a fellow Turk, her questioning him momentarily before seeing the large black animal chasing after him. Her brown eyes widened as she tucked a loose strand of brown hair back.

Tseng kept running, not even noticing Gun or her calling for him. His long black hair had fallen out of its high ponytail, but personally he couldn't care. There was a crazy cat-thing chasing him! Naturally narrow, cat-like brown eyes scanned the halls for any source of escape. His boots echoed loudly in the halls. He shed his dark blue, zip-up, suit jacket and thrust it backwards without slowing or looking back. He heard a roar of anger as the projectile hit its target and successfully held back Dark Nation.

Panting, he ran into a random door and slammed it shut. He leaned against it, panting softly. Looking up, he was met with curious stares of three fellow Turks. A loud roar and the sound of the door being hit and scratched answered their silent questions. Everyone shirked away from the door. Although Tseng had the best reaction: falling to his butt and scooting back from the door as quickly as possible.

"DN?" Tseng heard Knives ask softly. He nodded his answer, not trusting his voice. The black haired woman narrowed her eyes at the door as the sounds suddenly stopped. The sound of purring suddenly became audible. The Turks all exchanged glances. Rufus must have come. Tseng glared. Why couldn't Rufus have come sooner and saved Tseng from this from the beginning.

"Where'd does this one go?" That voice was most defiantly NOT Rufus. The Turks exchanged glances. The voice wasn't as smooth, a bit higher pitched, and had an accent that Rufus probably wouldn't be able to pull off if his life depended on it. An accent that they could distinctly tell belonged to one raised from the Slums. Which begged the question, why was a slum rat up on top of the plate, let alone the Shinra building.

"I believe the Turks, which would mean Tseng got away." There was Rufus. His smooth voice easing the tension in the Turks, but only slightly. Who was with him? A few brave ones inched closer to the door.

"Tseng is da stuck up bitch man, right?" Several Turks snorted or scoffed slightly at that statement from the unknown person. Tseng frowned.

"No, I think that you are thinking of Veld." Several jaws dropped at Rufus' response. As far as they were concerned, Veld respected Rufus and vise-versa.

"What'eva. Their all da same."

"No… some are female." The voices were getting quieter, along with the purring. That indicated that they were moving away, and taking Dark Nation with them… Thank Gaia!

"Cuz that really makes a difference, yo." The other voice spit back. Then a sound that was a miracle in its self. Laughter. Rufus was laughing. Maybe not a full blown laugh, but chuckle, but a laugh was a laugh. Tseng stared at the door baffled, the last time he had Rufus laugh was about a year before his mother's death.

"Point taken." The female Turks huffed at the insult.

There were more words spoken, but what was being said was unknown to all besides those who the words were spoken to. By the time the Turks had opened the door, the hall was empty. Eagerly, the three Turks, plus Tseng, made their way to the security room.

The security videos showed Tseng running through the hall, and the door being shut. It showed Gun stopping and shaking her head before going down another hall. Then it showed Rufus.

The blonde teen was only about 12, but still troublesome. His soft blonde hair was gelled back except for a few strands. His ice eyes gazed at the damage his pet had caused. He stopped at the papers, which the secretary had left. He sighed as he ran a black-clad hand through his hair. Then he fixed his white suit, tugging on it in some places. The lone sound of his boots echoed slightly, although not as badly as Tseng's had. A low whistle was heard, a sound that Rufus hadn't made. They watched as his eyes flickered to the side, where the camera's blind spot was.

"Good job, yo." Rufus' eyes narrowed at the sarcastic tone of the voice. The Turks leaned closer to the screen, hoping for just a glimpse of this person.

"Like you did any better." He retorted. Pulling off one of his black finger-less gloves before putting it back on and adjusting it. There was a sound of a scoff as an answer. Rufus continued walking. To the Turks surprise, no one followed.

They followed Rufus' progress down the hall, him stopping every now and then to adjust his suit. "If ya hate da thing so much, jus' ditch it, yo."

"Because I have to wear it." Rufus answered, fixing the white vest that he wore on top of the black turtle neck, but under the white jacket.

"Dad makes ya?"

"No." He shot another one of the camera's blind spots a glare.

"'k." The voice replied. There was silence until Rufus reached Dark Nation. At which point the conversation that the Turks had over heard originally was played out. They watched as Rufus left with Dark Nation following, and then entering his apartment, situated on the same floor as the Turk's office.

The only glimpse they got of the strange person was his bottom half. He had stepped out when Rufus had reached DN. However, the only bit seen of him was black shoes, black baggy pants and a chain that looked like it hung down from the waist of the pants, although the waist wasn't see-able.

"Who do you think he is?" One Turk asked softly. Tseng shook his head.

"I do not know, but I do know that it is our duty to find out."

* * *

I really do like Tseng.... But honestly, I would love to see this actually happen.


	2. Laying Down

This one is short, but then again, its supose to be.

* * *

"Reno?" The blonde murmured sleepily. His bare hand felt around the black silk sheets until finding the body it was looking for. Soft cream skin ghosted over a black –clad body. Ice eyes opened, still glossed from sleep.

"Hmm?" Reno replied, running a hand through Rufus' hair.

"Jus' makin' sure you didn't leave yet…" Rufus responded, closing his eyes. Reno smiled softly, before he too closed his eyes. Together, the boys released soft sighs. Blue peeked out from under cream lids, just as a bright aqua peeked from ivory.

The two boys were sprawled and tangled up together across Rufus' bed. Rufus reached up and gently pulled Reno's hair to him. The waist-length hair came easily, and Rufus began combing through it. "You should let it down more…" He whispered still touching the vibrant red locks.

The color was similar to fresh spilled blood, vibrant against ivory skin, highlighting sharp features and angles. Revealing the high cheek bones, and narrow cat-like eyes. There was a crimson red crescent slash under each eye, a natural birthmark although few believed that. Rufus' hands left the hair to trace one of the marks. Aqua eyes closed again, feeling relaxed with the blonde touching him.

"Can't." The red-head replied, although it was drawn out in a sigh.

"Why?"

"Cuz of meh choppy hair, yo." Rufus frowned, and looked to the top of Reno's head. There his hair was cut short and choppy. The only long hair was the waist-length hair he usually kept as a pony-tail at the nape of his neck. Rufus thought it looked fine, however kept quiet. Reno was stubborn, and Rufus knew that just as well as he knew himself.

The two boys stayed like that for a while, just taking in each other in ways that they had done countless times before. Rufus' fingers exploring Reno's face, tracing each sharp angle, each soft curve. The feel of his skin beneath his fingers. The smoothness of his hair, despite just coming from the slums. In return, Reno did the same.

A knock at the front door broke up the moment. Reno groaned softly. Dark Nation, who had been curled up by the side of the bed, went to the door of the apartment to investigate. Her loud growl answered the boy's silent question to who it was. Dark Nation only made that particular growl at one person, a certain Wutain Turk.

Reno quickly and silently stood, Rufus groaning at the loss of heat. However, besides the groan, Rufus didn't move or say anything, even when he heard the front door of his apartment being opened. The red-head made his way to the window, pausing only to grab a thin black strip of clothe that rested on the nightstand. Then he exited the room, just as Tseng entered and slammed the door shut on DN. Rufus glared at him.

"Who gave you permission to enter my living quarters, let alone my room?"

"Veld, when he assigned me to body-guard duty." Tseng replied, narrowing his eyes at the door. Rufus sighed, sitting up.

"Well I want to sleep, so let Dark Nation back in here and then leave." Tseng sighed but said nothing as he did what he was told to do. Rufus smiled as Dark Nation cleaned her paws. Tseng had gotten his leg cut as he was exiting, a just punishment according to Rufus.


	3. Begining

Every thing has a beginning.

* * *

"Hey." Rufus froze as a familiar voice reached his ears. Turning, he was met with Reno sitting on his window sill, petting Dark Nation. Reno had grown in the past month, Rufus noted as he observed the taller teen. His aqua eyes were trained on Dark Nation.

"Tseng put a security system on my window." Rufus' voice was emotionless, a thing that made Reno frown.

"Easily disarmed, yo." Now he looked up to be met with empty blue eyes. Aqua narrowed as he stood and strode to his friend. Next thing Rufus knew, he was being embraced in a tight hug. He breathed deeply, smelling the disgusting scent of the slums fresh on Reno's clothes. However, he ignored that, and instead focused on the undeniable scent of Reno that lied under the stink. It smelled faintly of smoke, cinnamon and something that Rufus just couldn't identify. "I'm sorry, yo."

The soft spoken words hung in the air. They said so much more in silence than what could be explained with words. Sorry for leaving although they both knew it had to be done. Sorry for not coming back sooner. Sorry for not being there. Sorry for everything, and yet nothing at all. Rufus' eyes softened as emotion leaked back into the blue depths. "Thank you." These words replaced the words Reno had said, hanging in the air.

Thank you for being here now. Thank you for making sure he didn't lose himself. Thank you for protecting him. Thank you for coming back. Forgiveness. So many messages spoken in so few words, yet the two boys understood each other perfectly.

"Do you remember how we met?" The red-head asked as they separated. They sat down on the bed, Rufus leaning on Reno.

"Of course I do." He replied smirking softly.

_Snickering to himself, a black clad boy carefully made his way down the fire escape. The Turks had been watching the doors, but they should have known him better than that, and watched the windows as well. Rufus smiled. It would be a while before the Turks really noticed his disappearance from the tower… they would most likely think he just exited the room. Snickering once more, the blond boy made his way out into the streets, where he looked around._

_The people on the upper plate would surly recognize him, and then turn him into the Turks and his father… besides, he was bored with the upper plate. He had never seen the slums… he had only heard stories of it from the Turks. With his trademark smirk, Rufus Shinra, heir to the Shinra Company and the son to the richest man in the world, decided to visit the slums. _

_The slums aren't that bad, the young Shinra had thought when he first saw the slums. That thought changed drastically once he changed into more different, and dangerous sectors. He had managed to get all the way to sector five before he really encountered trouble. _

_Up ahead of him was a thin man. His wiry hair reached his middle back, and was pitch black. A dirty toothpick was held between his teeth, which were yellow and chipped. The man's eyes were a strange golden color, that made shivers run down Rufus' spine once he saw the hunger and lust that was directed at him. Rufus made the mistake of taking a step back, and directly running into a big balky man. _

_"Lookie wha we 'ave 'ere…" the first man's voice was smooth, but it had that slimy feeling to it. He grinned at Rufus. "Me thinks it mighta be an curious plate scum… maybes worth bit of gil? Wha'da ya think?" Rufus gulped and suddenly wished he was with the Turks. The man behind him chuckled at the first man's words. The man behind him placed his hands firmly on Rufus' shoulder. _

_"Yea, bit o' gil!" The second man chuckled out. _

_"Cole!" All three heads turned and looked a boy, no older than Rufus himself run up to the trio. A small blackish red ponytail flew behind the boy, and his bangs fell clumblsy into his face. The boy stopped right in front of Rufus. "Cole! Wha'cha doin' 'ere? Yousa wannad at AVALACHE. Com'on!" With those words, the big gruff man from behind released his hold on Rufus and the boy towed Rufus away. Finally, after a few minutes of running, both boys stopped. _

_"Sorry 'bout callin' ya Cole, it was da first name I thought of, yo." The boy said once he caught his breath. Rufus, surprised by the semi upper-plate talk, just stared blankly at the slum rat. "By da way, name's Reno. You?"_

_"Rufus…" Rufus muttered after finally getting over his shock. _

_"Rufus…" Reno murmured for a moment before his green-blue eyes brightened. "Rufus, as in Rufus Shinra? Or is it just a name?" At this question, Rufus shifted nervously. After all, Reno had mentioned about AVALACHE, which was an anti-Shinra terrorist group. Reno smiled confidently. "Oh, I get it. Ya think that 'cause I mentioned 'bout AVALACHE that ya would be in shit. Don't ya worry pretty boy, I won't tell, yo." Rufus' naturally mako blue eyes widened. "Now, shouldn't ya get goin' back to ya tower?" _

_"No. I will continue to let those idiots search for me. I want to see the slums." At this Reno seemed generally confused, interested and amused. _

_"Wha? Pretty boy don't get wha he wanna? Pretty boy wanna see da slums but da mean o' Turks wouldn't let ya?" Rufus smirked at the words._

_"No, Pretty boy doesn't get what he wants. Pretty boy wants to see the slums but the idiotic Turks won't even let pretty boy leave his room without an escort." Reno laughed at Rufus' words. _

_"Yous not so bad, yo. I'll show ya 'round… yous names Cole, gottit?" Reno slipped back into the slang that dominated the slums as a 'proper' language._

_"Cole… I can deal with that." Rufus smiled. _

_"Good, but first… ya gots ta get dirty. Ain't no slum whosea clean, yo." At this Rufus shrugged, and allowed Reno to pour dirt in his hair and smudge his face. "That's a better." Reno stated once finished. "Now, ya's gotta learn ta talk wrong." _

_"I am sure I can do it."_

_"Not by talking like that, yo." Reno said before giving Rufus a run down in Slum talk. _

"Since that day we have always been friends." Rufus muttered softly.

"Yeah." Reno agreed softly. "Although, I do miss when you were able to sneak into the slums." The two chuckled softly.

"Yeah." Rufus agreed, not even acknowledging Reno's hand running through his hair. They had done this so many times, it no longer seemed awkward, they not longer hesitated or anything before exploring each other.

That night Rufus fell asleep embraced by Reno.

* * *

Don't worry if you can't understand most of what Reno says, or what the slum dwellers say. My friend's sister spent like an hour trying to figure it out. it was hilarius... it really was. Basically, the two bad slum dwellers are gonna use Rufus as ransom. Reno came in, and resuced Rufus by saying they were wanted at Avalanche.


	4. And the Turks Become Dead and Happy

Have fun with the slum speach.

* * *

~ A year later from the last chapter~

"Did ya 'ear? AVALANCHE attacked ah Shinra 'copter as it lifted off. It crashed inta da side of ah buildin', killin' everyone 'cept da vice. 'Pparently, he's holdin' onta da buildin' for his life right now." Reno froze as the words seemed to echo around him. Rufus was in trouble? What about the Turks, wasn't it their job to protect him? "Red? Everything 'k?" Without answering Reno took off running. The twelve year old refused to let Rufus die. He refused it. Rufus wouldn't die, not if he could help it. No matter what the hell Rufus did, Reno would stay by his side.

The silent vow seemed to give the already quick and nimble teen more speed. Within a few minutes, he reached where a group of people were staring up at the burning building above. Faintly, Reno could see white… hanging dangerously onto the edge of the building.

Reno took a quick examination of the building. He noticed the Turks were everywhere. Some were trying to secure the public, others were trying to find a successful way up to Rufus. The building was old, it would collapse soon, especially with the hit it had just taken. The building seemed to shake. Reno made up his mind. He had done worse climbs; this would be a piece of cake. He searched for a spot not as populated by the group of people, but gave him enough room to run. Finding it, he took a chance.

He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He was about to back out, think of another way; then a cry echoed across the air. Rufus' hand had slipped and he was now holding on with one hand. No time to back out. He leaped, ignoring the surprised Turks and public.

With expert ease, he scaled the building with nothing but his bare hands. His finger tips finding holds in even the slightest crack of the stone or brick. It was a talent he had always possessed. Somehow, although he wasn't quite sure himself how, he got to the level Rufus was hanging off of. Flipping himself, he landed on his two feet on the level, and then ran to reach Rufus. The blonde slipped, his scream echoed as he fell. Reno lunged forward, sliding on his stomach and grabbing onto his friend.

"R-Reno?" Wide startled and scared blue eyes looked up to be met with narrowed, determined aqua. There was a clear liquid gathering in the far corners of the wide blue. Rufus swallowed thickly.

"Yeah, I got ya… try to see if ya can crawl up… ya know… with your legs. It'll help me pull ya up." For once Reno spoke with almost perfect English, no slang in sight except for 'ya'. Rufus nodded once. With their combined forces, Rufus was hauled up. The force of Reno pulling on him, however, caused the two to fall backwards, so Rufus was resting on top of his friend.

Another shake and a small explosion caused the two to get up, ignoring their previous position and the blush that dusted both of their faces. By the time they reached the fifth floor, they were met with the Turks. Next thing Reno knew, he was falling to the floor, Rufus was angry, and his vision was dimming.

Reno woke slowly, expanding his senses to try and piece together what had happened. He was lying down… and cold. Slowly he peeked his eyes open. He saw white, a tell-tale sign of Rufus being near. He noticed black shoes with dark blue above them slowly backing off. His ears buzzed. He closed his eyes again and tried to focus on what he could hear.

"No. You will not even go near him." Rufus' voice was low, and had a dangerously unemotional tone to it. Reno thought to what he knew of Rufus and his moods.

When Rufus was mad or annoyed, he snapped at people. When Rufus was angry, he usually had Dark Nation attack, or he yelled at who ever was bothering him. When he was pissed, he had to attack something himself, or he went down to the shooting gallery and killed some targets. He wouldn't talk at all, just glare. When he was furious, he attacked anything and screamed to the loudest he could… a true temper tantrum. When he was beyond pissed… beyond furious his voice lowered and became exactly what Reno was hearing now. This tone promised instant death to anyone. Reno didn't blame the people for backing up. Most likely they were holding up their hands in surrender.

"Do you understand me?"

"But sir-"

"Attack." The simple command cut the man off, and the next thing Reno heard was a loud roar and a blood-curdling scream. Reno winced in spite of himself. Dark Nation was not a thing to trifle with; thankfully the beast had never harmed Reno, or even come close to thinking of harming the red-head. The other man wisely stayed silent except to answer Rufus' question with a soft 'yes, sir'. Reno recognized the voice belonging to Tseng. "Alert." Rufus instructed Dark Nation, telling her to let him know if Tseng did anything but breathe. He could feel the slight breeze from motion as Rufus turned and kneeled beside him.

Reno opened his eyes to glance at Rufus. The blonde's hard blue eyes softened once they were met with aqua. "You're okay?" Reno nodded once. With Rufus' help, he sat up, dazed at the sudden change from being on the floor. He looked around, surprised to see an interrogation room. Tseng stood not to far away, standing next to what remained of a body and a very agitated Dark Nation. The Wutain's dark eyes studied Reno, taking his appearance and committing it to memory.

"Yeah… fine." The cat responded to Reno's voice, looking over at him once, before returning to look at Tseng. Reno could easily see the way that cat seemed to relax a bit, as if she had been worried about him. He almost laughed at the thought, but now wasn't really the time to laugh. Reno stood, and shook his head to clear his mind from the fog that had entered it. "Wha 'appened?"

"You saved my life, and the Turks knocked you out and then were going to interrogate and possibly kill you." Reno arched an eyebrow at that.

"Then ya came in an' saved da day, my hero." Rufus' face was carefully kept blank, as much as he knew Reno didn't like that.

"No. Simply returning a favor. You saved my life and it wouldn't do to let you die." _Because I care. _The unspoken words hung in the air around the two. Even Tseng seemed to sense the silent communication between the two, although he couldn't quite understand it. He shifted slightly, and Dark Nation growled and nipped at him. Rufus tore his eyes away from Reno's. Tseng couldn't see the connections between the two; it would only get Reno in trouble. Although they both knew that Reno could really care less.

Both boys glanced at Tseng at the same time, their emotions hidden carefully. "Sir, if I may speak?" Rufus' eyes narrowed, and Dark Nation got ready for the command to attack.

"What do you have to say?"

"I think he would make an excellent Turk." Short and straight to the point. Exactly what Rufus wanted. Tseng apparently knew how to handle Rufus, especially in this type of mood.

"A Turk?" Rufus repeated, raising an eyebrow. Reo could see the anger ebbing out of him. He was calming, which was good.

"Yes."

"Explain." Reno spoke first, Rufus let him.

"We first noticed his presence when Dark Nation forced me to take shelter in the Turk's lounge a little over a year ago. I overheard a conversation between the two of you. On the security cameras he had managed to maintain no visibility. There were signs that he had been around, but no proof or anything to really say it was him. The disarming of my security system on the window is one such instance. Also, that can be used to say that only people who have explicit training in disarming can disarm the system I put on you window. That demonstrates great talent." Both boys motioned for him to continue.

"Also, that ability to climb walls could be quite useful. I also believe that he may have other talents still unknown."

"And would you train him?" Veld's smooth voice washed over them as he opened the door. The aged man looked over Reno, before turning his gaze to the dead body on the floor. He kept his face carefully blank, and returned his attention to Reno.

"If that is what it takes, and if Rufus allows it, then yes. Although I believe he made it quite clear we are not a harm him." Tseng nodded to the body. Rufus and Reno exchanged glances.

"Do you?" Rufus left the rest of the question hanging.

"Yeah."


	5. Training

OMG. I coulda sworn I had posted this... apparently I hadn't, and I'm soooo sorry.

* * *

Rufus watched as the Turks tested Reno's ability. The red-head was completely and utterly useless with a gun. However, give him knifes or rods, and Reno excelled. Rufus smirked softly as he watched Gun fall, yet again, flat on her face. Watching the Turks try and fail to catch Reno was amusing to say the least. The red-head had spent years on the streets, learning how to use his natural speed and agility to his advantage. Not to mention Reno had a sharp mind.

Rufus stifled a chuckle as Reno effortless scaled a wall, and bounced backwards off it, grabbing onto a pipe that ran across the ceiling, and pulling himself into the thin space between the top of the pipe and the ceiling. Tseng and two other Turks, Gun included; gaped up at the space Reno had vanished into. They didn't notice him crawling across the top of the pipe to the other end, where he silently dropped down. They did notice when he dropped them all to the ground, again, before scurrying away to the other side of the room.

He was looking at them. His pale pink lips were curved upwards in a smirk, his aqua eyes were glistening with amusement. "He certainly is talented." Veld spoke softly. Rufus' sky blue eyes flickered over to the Turk Commander. He, too, was watching the assessment of Reno, although, unlike Rufus, he was leaning against the observation window.

"Yes, he is." Rufus agreed, his eyes returning to the red head he knew so well. He sighed, and continued to watch as a Turk tried to sneak up on Reno. Reno, of course, having freaky powers of knowing when something like that is about to happen, dodged to the side at the last moment, making the poor Turk eat the gym floor. Rufus winced, slightly pitying the Turk.

After about an hour more of Reno playing a cruel game of cat and mouse, in which only Reno was exactly sure who was the cat and who was the mouse, Tseng called a halt. They decided to move back into weapon training, and thus called Knives to help, since Reno liked knives.

Although, Rufus knew the real reason Reno was no good at long range weapons, and did so well with weapons such a rod or knives. The reason was just Reno's personality. Reno was one of those people that got all up into the other fighters face. He liked his victims knowing who he was before he took them out. Taking people out from a distance held no interest for Reno.

"He sort of reminds me of electricity, sir." Rufus blinked, looking towards Veld.

"Electricity?"

"Yeah, like red lightning or something sir. He strikes quickly, in a flash. His body is in a constant motion, twisting and turning in ways I wasn't aware the body could. Reminds me of electricity. And he certainly seems to like shocking people, sir." Rufus blinked, processing this observation as he looked back at Reno.

Now that Veld had mentioned it… yes. Reno was like electricity. He was full of energy, a life saver, and a danger. He loved to shock people. He loved nothing more than to behave a certain way and have people make assumptions about him before he turns around and proves them wrong.

At first, Rufus had always compared Reno to fire. He always was reminded of fire in the way that Reno fought, almost like a dance. Fire could warm and burn. Plus, if he, Rufus Shinra, was ice, then wouldn't it be a great match if Reno was fire? Reno's hair also helped that idea. As did the fact that Reno loved it when things went boom, especially flashy 'booms'.

But… now that Rufus had this idea of electricity… well, it fit Reno better. Plus, lightning was known to cause fires, so it fit even more. A small smile worked its way onto Rufus' lips.

"Tell me how he does." He commanded, walking out the door. Veld stared at the retreating vice-president, wondering what exactly the thirteen year old boy was thinking.

He found out not that much later. After the assessment, it was discovered that Rufus managed to cajole some things from Scarlet, and was now letting Reno play around with them. The end result was the EMR, a design the Weapon's department was quick to take up. What looked like a normal baton or rod gave off an electric shock, with up to seven settings. All designed by Reno.

The Turks were astounded, and Rufus just seemed to secretly smile, and let Reno keep the first one. He had somehow made it so that even through it was a right handed weapon, he could wield it in his left. When the Turks tried combat training with Reno and his new 'toy'… well… Gun insisted her hair still had static in it. The EMR was like an extension of Reno.

Veld could only watch as Reno played with it, fixing and adding little tidbits to his new toy as Rufus watched. He had conveyed his idea of electricity and Reno to Rufus, and what had Rufus done? Rufus had turned that into pleasurable results, not that the red-head's results weren't already pleasurable… except in shooting.

He sighed, and shook his head. This kid was something else. His eyes darted between Reno and Rufus. These kids were something else. He amended silently. The way they worked together… and the connection that they held, well, if Rufus was a Turk and not the vice-president, Veld would have had them partnered.

"It's scary how well they get along isn't it?" Veld looked to Tseng, who was nursing a black eye given to him by 'Red' as the Turks called him.

"Yeah. I guess your mystery was solved."

"I guess so." The two men stood watching the boys down below, unaware that both of those boys knew that they were being watched, and were greatly amused by it.


End file.
